The Red Hunt
by TheHiddenSword
Summary: The Hero of the Bow. Instead of a justice driven teenager, this time around a dangerous individual is invited into a helpless world. Instead of a Hero, a Hunter has been called.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing that registered in Noah's mind is the feeling of wood in his hand.

The form was extremely familiar to him, a Bow. Though there was something different with it. He had never felt a wood of this quality before. Without opening his eyes, all of his focus was on the touch of the weapon in his hands. For several seconds he marvelled at the feeling of the instrument he was holding.

Until he finally realized something was wrong.

Noah was a hunter of the highest order, although he wasn't quite revered the same way a hero would be in his world, he was still one of the strongest person living and thus had garnered quite the amount of fame.

Mainly negative fame.

Despite the fact that his strength was respected, he was too out of control for the liking of the multiple sovereignties still standing, those that hadn't fallen to the demons yet, and thus these powers made their ultimate goal to slander his name through the dirt, painting him as a ruthless individual that had too much blood on his hands.

Not that they were necessarily wrong to begin with, but they simply went an extra step further.

Magic existed in his world, the possibility of an unexpected situations was never out of the window, especially for someone as dangerous as him, meaning he had several enemies out there.

Yet, the last thing he remembered was simply eating a magical deer he had just killed for dinner, and the next thing that happens is him having a bow in his hand.

Noah abruptly opened his eyes as his body tensed under the feeling of danger. Nothing indicated such a situation, but the unknown was enough of a threat for the experienced hunter. He was met with near blinding light and a vaguely familiar architecture.

"Ugh..." the sound of people around him seemingly waking up told the hunter that he apparently wasn't the only one in this situation.

The first thing that came in his mind was summoning, even if he had no idea how was he summoned without his knowledge nor why he wasn't enchained yet.

By the time the three other weaklings – Noah had already judged so using his experience- were regained their cognitive capabilities, the sound of arrows flying through the air had already started.

While Noah quickly realized that he was without a quiver or arrows, he used one of his spell to create arrows with magic, and aimed at the character that he deemed the most dangerous.

The mages exhausted on the ground nor the soldiers overseeing the ritual had time to react to the hunter. Their leader was already impaled on the wall, an arrow through his skull that was slowly disappearing.

"Oh honourable heroes- "That one didn't have time to finish, he was the only mage that wasn't spent on the ritual, and was the strongest one, so he was the second target on Noah's list.

By the time the hunter shot two arrows, he realized a noticeable tug on his magic reserve, and deducted that whoever summoned him somehow reduced the amount of Mana he had. Even if he didn't know how it was possible, it didn't change his situation.

Noah continued to shoot arrows while the guards finally realized what was happening and brought up their shields, not that it defended them from the hunter's might.

The Bow Hero gradually retreated towards a window and quickly looked through it between two arrows and dodging the spell of a mage.

"Stop the Bow Hero! "said one mage noticing Noah's intentions.

But that wasn't enough, deciding he had enough Mana to survive the fall, he jumped through the window, never to be seen in the kingdom again.

The surviving guards and mages were stumped, both by the death of their comrades and by the absurdity of the situation. By the time the other heroes stood up, blood already flowed in the room.

The Spear Hero, not noticing the situation, and quite frankly mildly irritated by the lack of attention these unknown people that, in his opinion, took cosplaying in a fantasy setting too far, called them out. "Hey! Can somebody tell me what is going on? "

* * *

An arrest order was put on the Bow Hero immediately, simply because they couldn't pull out a kill order on one of the four person that was supposed to save their world. The King didn't understand how the other countries were already aware of the summoning, but after promising in the back of his mind to do a little cleaning of the people surrounding him in order to kill the spies, he concentrated on the matter at hands, the escape of the Bow Hero.

Aultray Melromarc the 32nd didn't know what went wrong. The summoning of heroes has never failed in this manner in the past before, or at least not from what he knew. The heroes were supposed to have knowledge of what their goal was and act accordingly. The heroes, except the Shield one, were supposed to help the people of this world, and at the same time be malleable enough so that the country they were summoned into could manipulate them.

The King obviously executed every person present in this room except the heroes to stop the information flow, but it was useless as he already received messengers from the other countries that carried near war threat due to his action, and the order to find the Bow Hero rapidly.

'Damned Ritual. ' thought the King before returning back to the throne room, where the remaining heroes were to be summoned soon.

He had one hell of a mess to correct.

* * *

Noah had already realized that the Bow he had wasn't exactly the most discreet weapon in the world, but he was quite pleased when he tried to hide the weapon with a basic spell that would make the bow invisible and the weapon just absorbed the spell.

**Requirement met: **[Invisible Bow (0/50) Unlocked – Base Power: 5 – Equip Bonus: Invisible weaponry (weak) (unmastered) – Proficiency: (0%)]

He had no idea what that whole thing was, but nonetheless the bow now went invisible without him having to use the spell. He had to experiment a bit with this weapon, having finally felt the numerous seals on it, he realized this bad boy was way stronger than it seemed to be at first glance.

Noah didn't doubt that the stunt he pulled would gather unwanted attention, since it seemed that the people he killed were apparently quite interested in him in the first place, and he was summoned in a castle.

He had to leave the country, or at least whatever town he was in, and he had to do so quickly. He bought the necessary equipment for a hunter before he was recognizable in the town and decided to leave for the nearest forest.

Although the moment he tried to buy two daggers as a safe alternative he realized that maybe he wasn't in such a good position to begin with.

The technological level of the country he was in told him that he was either in a different world altogether, or that he was summoned in one that was so behind it should have been erased by the other major power already, so as ridiculous as it sounds, he opted for the first option. Magic was truly a wonder.

His entry in a blacksmith shop, supposedly the best in the town, confirmed his doubts. No hot weapons, no guns, nothing of the sort. It was a complete medieval era.

"Hello there customer, can I help you? "called a tall man at the counter.

"I'm just looking at your products, I'm searching for two simple daggers and bows. Apparently you are one of the few merchant in this town to sell bows, surprisingly enough for a blacksmith. " answered Noah as he kept his eyes on the weaponry.

"Ah… yes, although not as popular as other weapons, bows are still bought enough to make some profit out of it, and since there was no competition I decided to use that opportunity to widen my range of products. For the daggers what length would be preferable? " the tall blacksmith said as he pointed at his bow armoury.

"Uhm… What about a third of a meter? " said Noah whole going through the bows, analysing each of them.

The Legendary Bow, a lacking name for a weapon of its calibre, could actually give precise information over a variety of stuff. An aspect that Noah would not hesitate to abuse.

On the other hand, the weapon copy ability that the Legendary Bow had was even more of a cheat for the hunter. Although it seemed like he was looking through the numerous bows in the shop, he was actually copying each of them.

'There isn't a better feeling than ripping people off. ' chuckled Noah in his mind, while complaining about the overpricing weaponry in this smithy, even though he wasn't buying anything.

[Weapon copy – complete: Acacia Bow (0/10) - Base Power: 12 – Equip Bonus: None (unmastered) – Proficiency: (0%)]

[Weapon copy – complete: Redwood Bow (0/10) - Base Power: 11 – Equip Bonus: None (unmastered) – Proficiency: (0%)]

[Weapon copy – complete: Oliwand Bow (0/10) - Base Power: 9 – Equip Bonus: Pure Magical Damage (weak) (unmastered) – Proficiency: (0%)]

[Weapon copy – complete: Griffin Bow (0/10) - Base Power: 19 – Equip Bonus: Air Damage (medium) (unmastered) – Proficiency: (0%)]

'They have magical weapons in here? Interesting. ' Thought Noah. In his previous world, magical weapons were scarce, no matter the grade so he was surprised to find some in a relatively small shop.

He finished copying every bow here when he turned around to face the smith. " Uhm… What is a meter? We don't use that measure around here that's for sure. " Said the smith.

"Never mind, just show me the daggers I'll choose from there. " Said Noah.

"Well… "started the smith as he gestured towards the part where daggers and sword were. "Here are the normal ones, nothing too expensive, but they get the job done. There is every length possible so you'll find yours. If you want a magical dagger, I'll just show you the ones I have in the back. "

Noah walked towards the dagger before picking up one that approximately matched his perfect length, but the moment he fully held the weapon, he felt an electric pulse pass in his hand. It forced him to let go of the dagger that fell to the ground as he held his hand in pain. It wasn't unbearable, but he still didn't know what happened until his vision was covered by a message from whatever system was monitoring him.

**Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Contact With Unauthorized Weapon**

A Hero Cannot Fight With Anything Other Than The Legendary Weapon In His Possession

'… shit'


	2. Chapter 2

_In the Castle._

The three heroes, of the Sword, the Spear and the Shield were left in the dark about the situation that occurred at the summoning. Nonetheless, these three weren't complete idiots. Blood on the walls and on the ground, a panicked crowd and whispers of the Bow Hero made them at least partially aware of the matter.

Except for Motoyasu, as he was too busy getting to know the maids of the castle.

A good length of time has passed ever since the three heroes were summoned, but they hadn't met anyone that was willing to explain to them the situation, they were 'guarded' inside a quite luxurious room ever since. Ren didn't seem all that troubled by the situation, it seemed like he already knew what was going on and simply waited. Motoyasu… Naofumi didn't know if he was willing to mingle with, quite frankly, cute maids because he also knew what was happening or if he was doing so because he simply didn't care.

The Shield Hero was willing to bet on the second one.

Apart from small talk, the Heroes didn't interact with each other yet. Naofumi's anxiety grew when the Sword Hero mentioned things such as 'The wait time for such a simple event is quite long'.

At first, Naofumi thought that Ren was absurd, it was as if he was comparing reality and a game, but, as he was sure that Motoyasu heard Ren's muttering as well when he realized the Spear Hero simply nodded, he knew that he was missing information that he should have.

"Excuse me but… do you know what is going on exactly? " asked Naofumi, determined to get answers from them.

Motoyasu was flirting with a red-haired maid so he didn't even react to Noafumi, but Ren did. The condescending look the Sword Hero gave him couldn't be mistaken, but he decided to brush it off.

"Haven't you played that event? It's quite popular, the company behind Brave Star Online did it to gain some popularity back. " said Ren.

"Brave Star Online? " said Motoyasu, finally interested in the conversation. "It's obviously the 'Demonic Bow' event in Emerald Online. I've never heard of a game called Brave Star Online anyway..." Ren's brows furrowed at Motoyasu's words. "You don't know Brave Star Online? This event is called 'The Traitorous Bow' not 'Demonic Bow', did your Emerald online copied Brave Star Online? " answered Ren, with his condescending tone.

Before things could escalate between the two heroes, a guard opened up the door loudly.

" The King has requested your presence in the throne room."

* * *

'This has to be some sort of joke… ' thought Noah as he picked the dagger once again, only to receive a more powerful electric choc.

****Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Contact With Unauthorized Weapon****

A Hero Cannot Fight With Anything Other Than The Legendary Weapon In His Possession

Noah sighed as the blacksmith looked at him like an attraction in a zoo. After all, it's not every time that someone picks up a relatively weightless dagger, then drops it and holds his hand in pain. Repressing the chuckle, the blacksmith tried to ask if Noah was alright or not, but the hunter just dismissed the issue and told him he was ok.

"Nevermind about daggers, let's talk about some leather armour now. " said Noah, acting as nothing happened, which made the blacksmith's lips tremble but he managed to keep his serious.

"I don't have that much leather armour since there's a competition you might want to go to the old Jenk's instead. But if you insist I can show you my collection anyway. " said the blacksmith.

"No it's fine, I just need some armour right now, its quality doesn't matter that much. " Noah knew how to craft bows and leather armour due to his past experience, but he needed at least one right now and he didn't know if he would have the time to do while being chased around. If it wasn't for the fact that he could copy other bows, he wouldn't have come here in the first place.

"Alright then, but don't complain when the leather is easily pierced through, well if you survive in the first place Hahahaha. " the blacksmith entered a boisterous laugh that fitted his appearance but Noah couldn't help but think that this blacksmith was too honest to be a good merchant.

* * *

With now some protection on his body, he could finally leave this damned city where he was sure that there would be some sort of kill order on him soon.

He headed towards the forest simply because it would be the most advantageous terrain with his current equipment, although he was warned by the guards to be careful around these areas at night since monsters – a term that made him recall some painful memories - were more active when the sun disappeared.

Noah was someone that was extremely careful, the hunter life kind of forced that sort of behaviour anyway if you wanted to live long enough in a dangerous world, but he didn't really have much of a choice in the first place, and he was still confident in his abilities. His sensory magic didn't pick any painfully dangerous presences in the woods and due to his job, monsters would be hard-pressed to not be caught in his scan.

That reminded him that he would have to check this world's magic at some point if he ever confirmed that he was in another world and not in some sort of lost part of his original one. After all his homeworld was extremely vast, only 50% of it was uncovered by the human race.

Regardless of that aspect, he was lacking too much in information, he did not have the chance to visit some sort of tavern due to his lack of time and although he picked some drops of data in each shop he visited, it was far from enough to even understand the surface of where he was summoned.

As he walked through the wooden region, he checked something that mind boggled him at how convenient it was the first time he stumbled across it.

The Weapon Menu.

Truly the Legendary Bow in his hand was extraordinary, he had never seen something like this before. Even the seemingly simple copy function would have been enough to send the different countries he knew off into a frenzy, especially if they knew he was the one that had it.

On the other hand, the fact that everything was numbered was slightly uncomfortable for him, simply because he felt he could do an error and judge the numbers instead of his experience if he wasn't careful enough.

Nevertheless, there was still a lot of functions he wasn't aware of. As he looked at the very short, for the moment, weapon menu, he realized that each bow had numerous numbers, percentage that he didn't know of, and the seemingly sentient weapon wasn't willing to give information on them.

'A jealous weapon that doesn't want me to carry any other weapon but doesn't want me to use it at its full potential… great ' At these thoughts, he felt a mild electric shock go through his body and grunted at the pain.

****Legendary Weapon Rule ****

A Hero Cannot Fight With Anything Other Than The Legendary Weapon In His Possession

'… No need to repeat I know… damned jealous bow. ' this time around the Legendary Bow didn't punish him for his _insolence _but he could somehow feel the disapproval of his weapon, which made him chuckle, apparently forgetting the previous pain.

The Hunter and the irritated weapon dove into the darkness of the forest as the sun started to fade in the sky.

* * *

**Hello, there fellow reader.**

**Yes, I'm taking the path of the sentient weapon, too good of an opportunity to pass, plus I can branch out to an arc that will explain the origin of the legendary weapons that way.**

**Noah, if you haven't realized yet, is severely disadvantaged in terms of game mechanics, he will slowly guess and get information about it throughout the chapters, but he won't get the various ways to get strong just yet. **

**He is still overpowered compared to the three other heroes just because of his strength back in his world, and his access to magic never seen in this world, that he won't hesitate to top with the magic of this world. **

**So although the three others will gain a moderate amount of battle experience through the novel, Noah will always be ahead. He will also be somewhat of an anti-hero, he won't shy away from his duty, but don't expect him to start a crusade of justice as Itsuki would. **


End file.
